How to Use a Fountain Pen

Jan 24, 2018

This is one of the most common questions amongst curious people and stationery lovers. Enjoying of wooden fountain pens, fine pieces of human cunning and craftiness, is a unique experience, one that makes us wonder about elegant and inspired men and women out there that continue to be so devoted to these accessories.

Wooden fountain pens aren’t easy to use properly. There are many moving parts. It isn’t only about just writing well. Instead, it’s the whole package: from drawing lines at will and keeping it in good shape.

An Elegant Art

There is a whole art behind using a fountain pen. While it may seem intimidating at first for those who haven’t tried yet, the reality is that it’s easier than it seems to be.

Its mere design is stunning and menacing in most cases, leading people to think that the art of using it properly demands thousands of hours of hard work. Still, here you have some solid tips to succeed.

Having a Strong Yet Comfortable Grip

A strong grip is important, even if we are using fountain pens fine nib, which transmits a different feeling to the hand. This is especially true when using pens that aren’t heavy.

With weight, balance and pressure come. A loose grip may result in inconsistent lines and other more significant errors on paper.

Handling the Pressure

The pressure is responsible for placing the fountain pens fine nib in the right position and makes the ink flow from the cartridge within and through the fountain feed.

We mentioned before that weight influences pressure, so be aware of how hard you are pushing the nib against the paper.

Understanding the Strokes

Depending on the nib’s position and the pressure generated by the one who writes, lines will be significantly different. This is especially true for wooden fountain pens that are specific for artistic drawing.

Nonetheless, the same principle applies to the one who only writes. Strokes may be the difference between words that can be perfectly read and illegible nonsense.

Choosing Quality Ink

Here we stop the tips related to the writing itself, the practice of creating lines and strokes on paper. Now, we begin with the tips that will allow you to have a healthy and fully functioning fountain pen all the time.

The first thing is proper ink. You have two options when it comes refilling the ink. First, you may go straight to buy disposable cartridges, which are relatively inexpensive, and simply exchange them.

The other option, which is equally valid and widely used, is to choose a high-quality producer of ink and get a bottle. Brands like Parker sell extraordinary ink to use in fountain pens. If you go with this option, with just an ink converter you will be able to recharge your fountain pen.

Replacing the Nib

Replacing the nib is something usual and quite needed from time to time, as the ink dries up and nibs lose their sharpness or get broken. However, it implies a delicate treatment during the process. You cannot simply replace the nib violently. You can make the situation worse by breaking another part of the pen.

You can get fountain pens fine nib to replace the current nib on your pen if you want to modify the way it writes and get finer, sharper lines.